Thinking of changing

It"s sad to say, but I am seriously considering changing my trusty X reg TD4S Auto for a TD5 Auto Disco.
My reasoning behind this is as a result of a near collision today with a young idiot driving a Gold GTI. He came hurtling around a blind corner, on my side of the road and only missed a head-on collision by my quick thinking and his sheer panic in yanking the steering wheel over as he sped off in the opposite direction.F...ing Idiot!!!!
It"s always concerned me that my Freelander doesn"t have a passenger airbag and yes there are arguments for and against airbags, but I just feel that if some idiot is going to collide with me, I would rather be driving a more solid vehicle and one in which we would have a better chance of surviving.
As a 71 year old ex Ambulance Driver and latterly as a HGV1 and Minibus Driver I know the importance of safety when it comes to driving, and yes I do like driving fast, but rightly or wrongly I do feel that my driving is safe but it"s the other idiots that I worry about.
So, does anyone have or know of a reasonably priced TD5 Auto for sale.
I would need to p/x my Freelander in any dealings and as a Pensioner I do not have a great deal of spare cash available.
Cheers all.

Try the for sale section,ebay,autotrader or the Disco section,hope this helps.

the later freelander 1s do have airbags

You could put an A bar on to make it more solid,if not already fitted.I plan to do this on mine at some point in the future!!

teddywood1 said:

the later freelander 1s do have airbags

Click to expand...

Mines a 98 and its got 2 airbags in front . It was registered early February 98 op2: .

Hi again,
My Freelander is a late 2000 TD4S and where the passenger airbag should be there"s a grab handle instead.
I believe this could have been an option you were able to chose when buying new. Please correct me if I"m wrong.
As far as an A Bar is concerned, following the bad press regarding these I don"t think I will fit one, and even if I did fit one, I don"t think it would help much in a head-on accident.
Thanks for all your comments and advice

You're right

I reckon there are 2 schools of thought regarding an accident. 1 keep the Freelander as it isn't exactly a feeble car in a crash and it has better handling so is more able to avoid those kinds of situations.
Or get a Disco, it's greater mass makes it feel safer although having a separate chassis isn't always good as the vehicle that hits you might simply bounce off chassis and bend the non-structural body!! And being a big lumbering 4X4 you won't be able to throw it about to avoid sticky situations like you can in a Freelander!!

If the airbag is the clincher, then just add one....the wiring is already in place and it just slot in place of the grab handle and cubby hole.

You would need to research if there is a difference in the dash itself....extra reinforcing and so on, but I genuinely suspect not.


As for crash survivability, bigger does not equal better. A more modern design will always come off better than an older car, regardless of weights and sizes.
If I HAD to crash into a tree, I would rather do it in a new Clio than an old Discovery.

Following some of your advice, does anyone out there know if I can indeed fit a Passenger airbag? Is it a job an absolute idiot could carry out? And last but not least, How much will it cost?
All advice welcome.

my two pence worth is you don't want to be in a solid car in an accident the freelander will have built in crumple zones that absorb the impact by deforming its what its designed to do it slowes you the passenger down progresivly and absorbs the kinetic energy of the vehicle hitting you causing you and your squidgy bits to remain relatively un hurt a disco with a solid seperate chassis in a head on would not absorb any energy leaving it to be absorbed by you .id rather the car was mashed than me

3 door freelander 1 has integeral roll-over bar that the 5 door freelander 1 doesn't.

howardo said:

3 door freelander 1 has integeral roll-over bar that the 5 door freelander 1 doesn't.

Click to expand...

The 5 door doesn't need an overhead roll bar as it has a solid roof with 8 pillars keeping it up

No need to speculate - HOME | Euro NCAP - For safer cars crash test safety rating

Of course every time we crash it's into a deformable aluminum block fixed to a 100 ton concrete slab

Nodge68 said:

Of course every time we crash it's into a deformable aluminum block fixed to a 100 ton concrete slab

Click to expand...

Yea but no but, its the same test for all. Not a rule, but essentially, the newer the car model the higher survival chances in a bad accident. My lads 07 Corsa has a higher score than my 01.